Uncle Tom's Anger

Uncle Tom wants to beat Wright for being “a sassy black imp (157).” Wright had told his Uncle Tom that the time of day was about 5:18, and "If it's a little slow or fast, it’s not far wrong (157).” Tom feels greatly disrespected by such a reply and decides that Wright needs be whipped. Wright is angry with Tom because he feels he’s being beaten for a misdemeanor, something trivial and small. As Wright writes in the text, “… I was going to be beaten by someone who did not like the tone of voice in which I spoke… How long was I going to be beaten for trifles and less than trifles (158)?” Wright is made angrier by the fact that Tom is a new member of the Wright household and has never been involved in Wright’s life before this residency. It seems unfair that a man Wright was not raised by can beat him. When Wright sees his uncle stripping a tree branch to beat him with, he explains, “Now, listen, Uncle Tom, you’re not going to whip me. You’re a stranger to me. You don’t support me. I don’t live with you (159).” The scene ends with Wright using razors to protect himself against his uncle’s whip. When Tom relents to Wright’s razors, Wright tells his uncle, “You are not an example to me; you could never be… Your life isn’t so hot that you can tell me what to do (160).” Perhaps Wright is also angry with Tom because Wright doesn’t want to be disciplined by a man he cannot respect, a man who “weaves the bottoms of chairs for people to sit in (160).”